Index
History
In 2018 Dean (and I) bought 2 hyline brown chickens: Sophia and Victoria. In June of 2019 (about 8 months after getting the chicks), I decided to have a project in which I would take photos of the chickens every weekend.
In November, an abrupt ending to the project by the attack of a fox, we were heart broken. We decided to not have any more chickens until we moved to the new house.
Two months into the new house, amidst lockdown, Dean gets new chickens: Consuelo, Dolores and Valentina.
Project
52 Weeks of Chickens – 2nd Generation, has the same principles as the first 52 weeks of Chickens: At a minimum one photo per day on the weekends of the chickens.
The weeks are consecutive as best as possible: if we ever get out of this lock-down, I will not deprive myself of going on a trip because I will not be able to take a photo of the chickens, I will just push that week to be the next one.
Not all the chickens need to appear in all the photos, and it is not one photo per chicken. but the aim is to try have, in the spread of the photos in that weekend, all chickens appear, even if in a supporting role.
We got the chickens on 09/08/2020 (one day after the two year anniversary of The Amateur Photographer), they were less than one week old and this will be a good opportunity to go through their growing journey. All three chicks, as far as we know, are Easter Egger chickens. To learn more about the breed, follow this link.
The project got interrupted because we ended up with two roosters and we live in a council that does not allow to keep roosters. I will probably not have a third attempt at 52 weeks of Chickens, not only because we are unlikely to try to have chickens again, but also because the dynamic clearly isn’t working out.
Cast
Consuelo
Consuelo is pretty chill. She doesn’t really care and just does her own thing. Despite being the eldest (or biggest), she is very gentle with her sisters. She does not want trouble, but don’t take food from her beak otherwise she’ll get very angry.
Update 19/11/2020 – Her personality changed significantly. From being the bold older sister that takes care of all others, she became the smallest one who is scared of everyone and everything. She shies away from interacting with me and Dean and will mostly interact with her sisters. She’s also become the smallest and lightest (weight) one of the three.
Valentino
Valentina is very curious and a bold dreamer. She loves trying to reach high places, but doesn’t want any help getting there, i.e. doesn’t want to be picked up. She tries to pick stuff up from high places, including the sleeve of your sweater.
Update 19/11/2020 – Her personality continued to develop in the same line as when she was a chick. She is curious and loves coming close for cuddles (but really for the treats I may or may not have). She doesn’t mind being picked up anymore (doesn’t even run away to not be picked up) and will patiently wait to be put on the ground… I even suspect she likes my cuddles. She has grown into a big, beautiful chicken that will face anything to protect her sisters (including a 12 week old puppy).
Update 17/12/2020 – Valentina turned out to be Valentino. This caused a problem because he would not stop crowing. Considering we live in a council that does not allow roosters, we were forced to rehome all three feather babies.
Dolores
Dolores is as feisty as it gets. She may be the smallest of the three and the youngest, but she sure can cause havoc. Her size is not an issue and will battle her sisters for a yummy piece of food. Once she grabs onto the food, she runs away as her sisters chase her. She generally pushes her sisters to get to food. She doesn’t cuddle up to the her sisters as much as the other two.
Update 19/11/2020 – From feisty to chill. Dolores developed a very soft nature and really can’t be phased by anything. She walks away when annoying pups try to play with her while she’s interested in doing something else, but she generally won’t run away from people or animals (maybe large dogs). She has developed into a beautiful brown feathered coat and is the biggest and heaviest of all the chickens. Nothing stands in her way. She will avoid being picked up, will cause trouble when you try to put her back on the floor, but will generally stay quiet while being carried.
Update 17/12/2020 – Dolores is a strong candidate to be a rooster. Even though we didn’t go get her tested, as we did with Valentino, she started displaying rooster behaviors when Valentino wasn’t around.